DIY Flower Hair Clip Tutorial

Summer is upon us and what better time to start unearthing your bright flower hair accessories and picking up new ones to adorn those lovely kinks, coils and curls? But, what to do when you are searching for a specific type, color or size of flower and it’s nowhere to be found? Or, you find it, but someone wants an arm, leg and kidney for the one you desire? Why, make your own of course!!

So, this is my DIY Tutorial for making your own flower hair clips in slide show and gallery format again=).

First, hit Michaels or anywhere else where you can find faux flowers and select all of the species, colors and sizes you want (go hog wild if there’s a sale;). I used white orchids here. (The whole reason I decided to do this is because I was in search of orchid hair clips for months and the only place I found ones I liked was on Etsy and they were too expensive … and I’d have to pay shipping too?!?! No thank you!).

SUPPLIES:

Felt (I bought white for the orchids and green for the other flowers)

Hair clips (I got these from Sally’s and prefer the pointed tip clips to the 2 prong)

Scissors

Pen

Small circular object to use as a stencil

Glue Gun

Glue Sticks

Use your circular object to trace a circle on the felt. This was a little bottle of gold leaf that I used because the quarter was too small. I would suggest using a black pen or pencil to trace your circle. I grabbed the red because it was the first thing I saw and I just wanted to get these pics taken last night=).

Cut your circle out of the felt and fold it into quarters as shown below.

Cut a very small slit in the middle of side with two folds (cut through both folds). This is the opening through which you will thread the clip.

Weave the clip through the slits in the felt circle. I leave the flat side of the clip free and the insert the angled side (where you squeeze the clip to open it) through the felt. This is the side that will be glued flush with the back of the flower.

Pluck a flower from a stem of the stalk. You don’t need to cut. I made that mistake first and it was a lot of effort for nothing as the stalks tend to have metal running through them and I didn’t have metal clippers, so I was cutting and bending and got a hack saw. It was ridiculous! LOL!! The flowers tend to pop off the stems. You can see the part that inserts into the stem here. Just grasp the flower close to it and pull (you might have to wiggle it a little).

Cut the protruding portion of the “stalk” from the flower so that it will lay flat against the felt/clip combo. However, don’t cut it too close or you may damage the flower or cause it to fall apart.

Place your flower and felt/clip combo close to each other. Plug your glue gun into an outlet, let it warms enough to squeeze the glue out and apply a circle of glue a little smaller than the felt circle around the base of the flower. Quickly move to the next step.

Apply a circle of glue slightly in from the edges of the felt circle and down the back of the exposed clip. Don’t place the glue too close to the edge of the circle as it will squish over and look sloppy. Also, don’t do what I did here! Either cut inside of your line when you cut your felt circle or place the pen side down so that it will not be seen through pale flowers! I’d suggest the former so you don’t have to worry about seeing any pen at all=). Again, move quickly to the next step! Glue from glue guns dries very quickly!

Place the felt/clip combo in the middle of the flower and hold with medium pressure until the glue dries (it’ll cool to the touch). This shouldn’t take more than 10 seconds.

And that’s it! You have a flower hair clip!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Okay, I kind of cheated because I didn’t glue the white orchid clip together=). This final pic is of a pink orchid that I had previously made. What is really cool is that you can make these dual purpose by creating two slits, one for a hair clip and one for a pin. Then, you can use these in your hair or pin to clothing! I bought some pins for that purpose from Jo-Ann Fabrics (jewelry section). The pins have a flat back so that you can glue them against a flat surface. If you have flowers with large leaves, you can use a leave for the back of the clip instead of the felt or you can attach leaves behind the felt. Use your imagination=)!